Summary: Abby gets Ziva to put on a summer dress.
Disclaimer: I don't even own a summer dress that I can sell to buy NCIS (hey look, that rhymes). It's depressing :(
Spoilers: None.
Warnings: This fic contains Tiva, and slight amounts of McAbby. By slight, I mean slight. The Tiva is more obvious, because I can't help myself.
So, Ziva's usually not feminine, right? And a summer dress is decidedly feminine (at least, I think it is). I wanted to see if I could put her in one, hehe. And this is how the fic came about!
Enjoy, please review! And please tell me if it's weird.
-Soph
P.S. Forgive me if I've gotten it all wrong...I don't have summer, let alone any dresses for it, haha.
P.P.S. Inspiration for the dress: Cote de Pablo's Vanity Fair picture. Look it up! She's so pretty in it.
Dress
"No. N-no. I am not putting that on," Ziva said in alarm as she slowly backed towards the door, away from the dress Abby was currently holding out to her.
"Why not? C'mon Ziva, give it a try. I'm wearing your cargo pants. Well, not your cargo pants, but cargo pants that you said were comfortable. I'm trying new things. You should try this dress!" Abby shook the hanger that was holding the dress rather violently, causing the dress to ripple.
Ripple, for heaven's sake. When did she ever wear anything that looked like it might sway with the breeze? "I did not make you wear those cargo pants!" Ziva argued.
"Yeah, but I'm wearing them. See, it's proof of our friendship that I put them on when you say they're comfortable. They are, by the way, but they're not really my style so I'm going back to skirts after this. Hmm. I had to accessorize, you know." Abby looked down at her silver-skulled belt, and Ziva took advantage of her distraction to flee. "Ziva!"
The elevator was one second too slow, and before it could announce its arrival Ziva heard footsteps behind her and looked around nervously to see Abby standing in the doorway of her lab, holding the dress. "Why won't you put it on?" the goth asked in a small voice. "I got it just for you."
Guilt flooded Ziva as she turned back reluctantly, ignoring the silver doors which had graciously decided to open for her. "I don't…wear summer dresses, Abby."
"I know, and I don't wear cargo pants. But we've gotta have a little of everything in our wardrobes. And I thought this would suit you…it's a good colour for you." Abby gazed sadly at the dress. It was a beautiful dress, really; white with a thin red belt for a splash of colour.
Ziva's heart softened. "Okay. I will try it on." Abby's face lit up, and Ziva hastened to add, "Just once."
"Once is good; maybe you'll like it after you put it on!"
"I highly doubt that." She took the dress from Abby.
"It's a possibility. Hey you gotta let me see after you put on that dress, okay?"
Ziva sighed and waved her hand vaguely in acknowledgement as she turned away. If anybody saw her in the dress, she was going to kill Abby.
xoxo
Luckily for her, Ziva didn't meet anybody on her way back to the lab from the ladies' room.
Unluckily for her, the elevator dinged the moment she stepped into the lab.
She looked around frantically, searching for a place to hide; but before she could run across the room and into Abby's office, Tony and McGee came up behind her.
There was what appeared to be stunned silence as the two men stared at her back. Somewhere to her left, Abby started giggling. Ziva shot her a glare.
"Ziva?" McGee finally asked, being the first to recover his voice.
She turned around to meet his eyes defiantly. "Yes?"
"You're – you're wearing a dress," Tony told her slowly, looking like he was wondering if she'd lost her mind.
"I am aware of that."
"And Abby's wearing cargo pants," the younger man added dazedly.
"She is aware of that."
Abby started laughing again. "They're really comfortable, McGee."
"I know, but I like – I mean, um, you look good in skirts…unless you prefer cargo pants."
She gave him a reassuring smile. "I like skirts better too."
McGee nodded and then turned back to frown at Ziva, who was beginning to feel increasingly scrutinized. Tony's gaze was heavy upon her, and she didn't need the extra attention McGee was bestowing her.
She shifted on her feet. "Right. I am going to change out of this now."
"No!" Abby protested. "I haven't seen you properly yet. Come here, let me see you."
Ziva set her jaw and obediently moved towards Abby. Both men's eyes tracked her.
"I think it fits you," Abby proclaimed. "You should wear dresses more often. Not with these boots, of course, but like heels. Ooh, bright red heels! Or orange heels. We should go shoe-shopping."
For reasons unknown to herself, that made Ziva look over her shoulder at Tony. She regretted it immediately, because of course he noticed, and the corners of his lips quirked up a little. McGee, on the other hand, still appeared somewhat dumbstruck by this unexpected event.
"Can I change now?" she asked Abby. She was more than used to being stared at, but being in a flared knee-length dress and boots while it happened was a whole different story.
Abby grinned in satisfaction. "Yes. And we'll go shoe-shopping some other time!"
Ziva smiled weakly as she turned to leave. "Thank you for the dress, Abby."
xoxo
Tony continued, intermittently and throughout the day, to stare at her as if she were still wearing the dress; and she was glad when they finally found themselves alone in the elevator as they were making their way home. She felt his eyes on her again, so she reached over and pulled the emergency brakes, ready to pummel him if he so much as made one single joke.
"Do you have anything you want to say?" she asked him irritatedly; he was wearing her patience very thin.
"Can I see that dress?"
"What?" Ziva blinked.
"The dress Abby gave you, can I see it?"
"Why?" she asked, even as she pulled her backpack around to extract the carefully folded piece of clothing. Tony took it and stared confoundedly at it. "Why are you looking at it like that?"
He shook his head slowly and furrowed his brows at her. "You know you looked good in it, right?"
She blinked again. "I saw myself in the mirror…"
"And?"
"It was nice, I have to admit."
He shook his head again. "It was more than 'nice'. Way more."
"Oh." Her pulse picked up speed.
"Yeah." He frowned at her for a few more seconds, as if fighting an internal battle. "You gonna go shoe-shopping with Abby?"
"Why? Do you want to come along?" she asked exasperatedly, because his random spurt of questions was more than she could follow.
"No." He wrinkled his nose. "Not my thing. You can take McGoo."
"Then why did you ask?"
"'Cause…" He paused. "If you have the right shoes, that means you might wear the dress again."
Realization dawned on her. "You want to see me in that dress again," she said accusingly.
He took a step back and watched her warily. "Maybe," he conceded.
"Why?"
He cleared his throat. "I don't know. Never mind." Dropping his eyes, he reached over to flip the emergency brakes.
She patted his arm comfortingly. "Maybe."
"Maybe, what?"
"I'll go shoe-shopping with Abby."
"Yeah?"
"If I ever have an occasion to wear that dress."
"You could come up with one."
"What for?"
He shrugged.
She chewed on her lip. "Hmm. I'll think about it."
